Simon Snow is the Humdrum.
Or… the Humdrum is Simon Snow.
SIMON
“Did I take his magic? No. I don’t take anything. I’m just what’s left when you’re done.”
I’m lying on Baz, and he has both arms around me. And I keep trying to shake the Humdrum’s face out of my head. (To shake my face off his head.)
“I give them some of my nothing… and then you give me more nothing.”
I sit up and rub my eyes. “Do you still need to hunt?”
“No,” Baz says. “I was finishing up when he found me.”
I move into a crouch, then stand, holding out my hand to him. “Did he say anything? Before he attacked you?”
Baz takes my hand and pulls himself up. He doesn’t let go. “He said,‘You’ll do.’”
I close my eyes, and my head drops forward. “He used you. He used you against me.”
“Everyone does,” Baz says softly. I feel his arm slide, slowly, gently, back around my waist.
I slouch into him. “I’m sorry.”
BAZ
If Simon Snow is the Humdrum… that makes him a villain. A supervillain.
Can I be in love with a supervillain?
SIMON
Baz is shaking, and I think he might be crying—which would make sense, after what just happened. I open my eyes and lift up my chin.
He’s not crying—he’s laughing.
He’s laughing so hard, he’s falling against me.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “Are you in shock?”
“You’re the Humdrum.”
“I’m not,” I say, trying to push him back by the shoulders.
“I’m dead, not blind, Snow. You’re theHumdrum.”
“That wasn’t me! Why are you laughing?”
Baz keeps laughing, but he’s also giving me a sneery grin. “I’m laughing because you’re the Chosen One,” he says giddily. “But you’re also the greatest threat to magic. You’re a bad guy!”
“Baz. I swear. That wasn’t me.”
“Looks like you. Sounds like you. Tosses that infernal red ball in the air like you.” He holds me tighter.
“I think I’d know if I were the Insidious Humdrum,” I say.
“I wouldn’t give you that much credit, Simon. You’re exceedingly thick. And criminally good-looking—have I mentioned that?”
